Pinnacle Mountain rises 756 feet above the surrounding floodplain to a peak 1,011 feet above sea level. It is a remnant of the eroded Ouachita Mountains, made of gray sandstone and shale from ancient deep-ocean sediments. French colonists called it Mamelle, a word for a breast-shaped hill, and that name became Maumelle on the nearby rivers, lake and towns. The Tunica and Quapaw were the local peoples from about 1500 to the late 1700s, and in the 1830s, during Indian removal, several eastern nations passed within sight of the mountain.
The park is a recent creation. The legislature approved it in 1973, and it began with 1,395 acres bought from 17 landowners; it now covers about 2,069 acres. The first visitor center, which overlooks the Arkansas River, opened in 1977. Sandstone quarried from the park in the 1960s went into the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. The Arkansas Arboretum, 71 acres along the Little Maumelle River, shows native plants from the state's six natural divisions and has a 0.6-mile barrier-free trail.
The West Summit Trail is 1.5 miles round trip, rated strenuous, and takes about 1.5 hours. It climbs rock from the picnic grounds to views of Lake Maumelle, the Arkansas River Valley and west Little Rock. The visitor center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The park is day-use only, and its gates close one hour after sunset.
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